How Animation Software Works

Author's Note: How Animation Software Works

Researching this article taught me some fascinating stuff about the history of animation software and CGI work and about some of the interesting connections between all the groups at play over the past few decades. It may also have inspired me to get to work on a cartoon. I've made some short, rudimentary animations in Flash, with simple cartoony characters and not-so-lifelike movement, but something more complex might be in order now that I know what other tools are available today (especially the free Blender 3-D software). It is likely to be a slow process with a bit of a learning curve, so making a feature-length film anytime soon is probably out, but I might as well spend my free time doing something with a fun outcome, like making a cartoon. And whether I succeed or fail, I'll also keep watching them.